


His Starry Night on You

by Witchcraftandwine



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Coco is best pupper, F/M, I blame you all LOL, I need more horror fluff, READER HAS A DOG, Reader Is Not Chara, Reader Is Not Frisk, Soulmates, The horror guys got shafted, good beans, soft horrortale, soul mark, soul mates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-15 00:22:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28679598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Witchcraftandwine/pseuds/Witchcraftandwine
Summary: some people have a picture on their body, a connection between them and the one who is meant only for them, these marks are soul marks.When your mark flares into beautiful focus after a life altering event you realise that while experience may have made you jaded against romance, fate had other ideas.
Relationships: Sans (Undertale)/Reader
Comments: 46
Kudos: 224





	1. Chapter 1

You don’t much care for mornings. 

Not because they bothered you really, honestly if you had a normal sleep schedule you’d probably love mornings, the sunrise, the dawn chorus, the shimmering of the dew on the grass. It was pretty, but you have a terrible sleep schedule. you draw late into the night and write.. Well… ‘write’ isn’t really the right word, it’s all fanfiction because frankly as much as you want to be a writer you just don’t have the confidence to sell an original story.

Dragging yourself out of bed, yawning broadly you pause to crouch and give your sleepy old dog a scratch behind his ears. The soft few thumps of his tail wagging told you he was still alive, always good, he’s not a young dog anymore. Meandering into the bathroom you go through your morning routine. It’s precise, it helps keep you steady, everything done a certain way if not always at the same time. You pause studying yourself in the mirror before lifting your left arm and turning to look at the mark that rests faded on your skin. It’s soft faded blue with the faintest swirls of color, too blurry and indistinct to make out.

A soul mark.

Not everyone has one, but those who do are supposed to be destined for a  _ special _ partner. The marks were like very old very faded tattoos, indistinct until your partner touched you for the first time, then it took shape it became what it needed to be the colors became more vibrant and the picture took shape. That’s how you were supposed to know. 

You don’t know if you really believe it. you’ve seen them on TV, in movies, but you don’t know anyone who has one… well other than yourself anyway. 

Your mark has never changed how it looks, all it’s done is grow with you, always in the same place covering my side from just under your armpit down your side to almost your hip and then stained lightly on your right shoulder, apparently that’s pretty big for a mark as well. While it’s not uncommon for a mark to appear in a couple different places, depending on how you and your mate meet and connect for the first time, they here most commonly on arms and hands. A hand shake, an accidental shoulder bump, A brush of fingers as something was passed to someone, that sort of thing.

You shake your head and step into the shower unit. you're not sure how to feel knowing mine is so big, anyone you would even allow to touch me that much already has and it’s never changed, so it was probably baloney.

You used to think the idea of a soul mate or a perfect partner was a romantic idea. Nowadays not so much. Not because you don’t want a partner but because you know that no one is perfect. you thought you had love once, you didn’t need a soul mate with him instead it turned out you were a convenience to him. Only lovable in so much as he could control you. You can only be grateful that your difficulty with being touched eventually ended it… or caused him to end it when no amount of pressure, which made you bow to everything else, made you give in and just sleep with him.

It was his parting words that made you realise there was no perfect partner, not for you. With your issues no one was ever really going to love you, and hey, he was right. you know what you are, you know your mind isn’t right, you know in a hyper sexualized society your lack of interest will make relationships difficult… you also know that your positive opinion of monsters made you awkward to be around.

The thing about monsters is they are kind of scary to look at but that was because they got shafted, big time. You feel bad, you donate If you have some extra money and when they first came out of the mountain you volunteered with the food drive, probably the most active thing you’d ever done in my life, but the more you’d heard about what they had gone through the more you felt awful. Sure you had a shitty situation with your relationship but their lives had been one big horror movie with no end in site! 

Even when things had been at their worst for you, your mom lived just outside town, a few stops on the bus and you could see her when ever, They had been buried alone and forgotten, left to starve by some maniac who had killed half their population, and still they didn’t blame humans, you can’t understand it but you know if you can do something to help, you will because damn it someone deserved good in this world.

Stepping out of the bathroom, washed, brushed, and dressed you meandered to the kitchen, well... the tiled off corner of the main room which served as a ‘kitchen’ and made yourself a bowl of cereal. Something brightly covered and insanely sugary but hey it was food.

Settling on the sagging futon Coco followed and hopped up before promptly curling up and going right back to sleep. He was such a ball of energy…

You smile at the thought and turn on the TV, settling back to eat as you wait for it to boot. Your house warming gift had been a neat TV that was able to connect to the internet and a subscription to Netflix. That had been a few years ago, before Monsters had come up. So it wasn’t a new model but it still works really well and you like it better than a normal TV, you don’t have to worry about stumbling across upsetting news if there's no channels to browse!

Your mom thinks of everything.

Actually that reminded you. 

Finishing your breakfast you set the bowl in the sink and head back to your room to grab your phone, sending her a good morning message before pulling up the app for the freelancing website you worked through. You had finished a job the night before but it looked like the client hadn’t seen it yet. That was ok, you worked with them a lot and weren’t too worried about not hearing back from them yet. You don’t know who they are. Only that they lived in a different country and had you do illustrations for children's books. You liked their stories and they gave you a lot of creative freedom so it worked out.

With that off the list and nothing lined up for a couple more days when you’d have a ‘meeting’ with a company you sometimes freelanced for (which consisted of an awkward skype call that really wasn’t needed but for some reason you needed to hear the instructions as well as seeing it in the e-mail) you knew today was going to be an errand day. Your fridge was looking very sad and empty compared to the stacks of dog food for Coco, you always made sure you had food for him first.

Your stash of emergency treats was dangerously low as well, and when you work late into the night and need something to nibble as you were drawing, not having anything to snack on was bad.

You’re not looking forward to going out but you know it needs to be done. You suppose you could always try and do an online order… but you look at Coco and remember how your mom had made me promise to leave the apartment at least once a week, you supposed this would count and Coco would get a good long walk out of it. So digging out his harness you got him hooked up before it even occurred to me to look outside and check the weather. It was clear with a few thick clouds in the air but the sky was blue. It looked deceptively nice even though you knew it would be frigid outside considering it was the middle of January and there had been a huge ice storm only two weeks ago. 

The sun might have been out but it was not going to be warm. Bundling in a thick covering sweater and oversized black slacks over a pair of leggings for extra warmth you pulled on a pair of fluffy novelty Christmas socks and your thick boots, you’re a bit of a wimp and don’t like the cold.

Well bundled up and with your purse slung over your body with Coco in his winter coat (which made him look super cute) harness and leash, you were off. You didn’t count walking Coco as part of your promise to get out of the apartment because you only took him to the small dog park nearby to trot around, at his age he didn’t really run anymore.

So going grocery shopping tended to be how you kept to that. They knew you and your issues well enough and Coco was always happy to sit by the exit and cast pleading eyes for snacks and tickles from exiting children. 

It was colder than you even expected, it felt like your nose hairs were freezing! So with an agreeable ‘woof’ from Coco we opted for the subway, you could very easily walk to the shop but not in this cold!

It was late enough that it wasn’t very busy, the work rush had petered off so there were plenty of seats with space between them. You didn’t feel crowded and Coco was happy to curl up on your feet, lifting his tail with a couple wags at the squeal of a small child. 

He loved attention.

The shop was only a couple of stops away and almost right outside the station. With reusable bags folded in your purse, you walked to the exit and tied Coco to one of the posts. He gave you a look that others might have seen as mournful, if they didn’t know him. You knew for a fact he was trying to remind you that anything he ate wasn’t his fault it was all the generosity of the kids who gave him bits of donut or cookie, he was just being a good dog and eating what he was given. you gave his ears a ruffle and made your way into the shop… oh they were having a sale… great… it was busy.

Grabbing a cart you thank whatever corporate drone suggested home delivery, you’d take what you needed today and schedule someone to deliver the rest of it to you tomorrow. 

So handy.

Leaning on the cart you were studying cereal debating if you were going to go generic store brand or splurge a bit on a name brand that had a stronger flavor to it when something caught your attention, a tell tale voice that made any retail worker shrivel in their shoes. Pushing your cart to the end of the row you peeked around into the aisle to see a woman with a yellow (not blond) bob and huge sunglasses (Inside in winter, who does that?) berating a large heavy set man, it took you a second to register it wasn’t a man but a monster, a hulking skeleton with a huge hole in the side of his head.

“-onsters are bad enough living with us decent folk! I can’t let my children eat food touched by you! To think what kind of diseases you might have, I don’t know who-”

Every iota of your being is screaming don’t get involved! Every part of you was thinking surely someone else will step in! As you slipped off your coat and made sure the lanyard you kept your train pass and cards in was in site your mind was saying really this isn’t going to work. As you left your cart your brain is telling you ‘this is stupid’. As you approached and those sunglasses turned in your direction you knew you needed to do this, because no one deserved to be treated like shit 

Especially not monsters.


	2. Chapter 2

“OH! Good a manager!” the woman exclaimed as the skeleton turned towards you, the skull puckering above the nasal ridge… oh eyebrows, He looked vaguely confused but you just smiled at the woman, customer service remember, customer service.

“I’m sorry ma’am but what seems to be the problem?” you asked warmly, the woman smiled and gestured to the skeleton. You had to give him props for not reacting, if that brightly polished Talon had swung at you, you'd have flinched.

“This… This brute is discriminating against me because I’m human. It won’t help me.” she declared primly huffing out a breath

“I’ve been shopping here for years! I know this isn’t acceptable behavior for an employee. I demand it be fired at once!” she declared it? Wow, what a bitch, shame you can’t say it if you want this to work.

“I see, and what do you have to say?” you asked turning to the skeleton who shuffled

“‘Sked me ‘bout organic full grain.... Basmatic... rice?… Don’t know what that is… Told her I could find her someone who knew better, she got mad.” he grumbled out, poor guy looked tired and confused. Then again you figure anyone would be confused with a big hole in their head.

“UUGGGHH! It’s Organic Brown, long grain, Basmati rice you absolute buffoon! I cannot understand how they could hire a monster when you’re all such in-” she cut off as you stepped between her and the skeleton.

“Miss I’m going to have to ask you not to harass employees. There is a very strict no tolerance policy the company follows.” you said firmly, you know you have to word it carefully but you manage it, 

“It’s hardly harassment if _it_ can’t even do the job! I know that we’re pushing diversity in the workforce but surely you could hire someone who can actually do the job? Honestly it’s bad enough it’s touching the food at all!” she declared shrilly her voice is horribly grating on your nerves but you hold firm, it’s nothing compared to what this guy faced on the regular.

“Miss I have no power over the hiring policies of the company but I do know that you have continued to insult, racially discriminate, and harass this employee and for that I request you kindly leave this shop.” you said, again careful with your wording. It needs to sound official, it needs to sound right, but at no point can you say you work for them.

“Me? You're kicking me out?! You can’t do that, it's discrimination!” she declared you stared at her your mouth tasted coppery as you bite on the inside of your lip hard to keep yourself from retorting and ruining it, the woman huffed dropping her basket eggs breaking in their carton and a jar of jam shattering as she stormed out muttering angrily about never shopping here again. You wish you could believe that because it meant she wouldn’t go after this poor guy again but people like her never give up convenience.

  
“You ok?” you asked turning to the skeleton who was staring at you wide eyed, drops of red… sweat? Where forming on his skull. You waved my hand a little to try and get his attention. Great what if he was having some kind of fit? Could monsters be epileptic? You didn’t know, you didn’t think so because you were pretty sure epilepsy was some kind of neuron issue in the brain and Monsters didn’t really have brains like organic creatures did. It was all magic but maybe there was some kind of…

“Hello? Are you... Alright?” you asked again you shaking voice betraying your concern. he shook his head quickly as if clearing his mind and nodded

“‘M I fired?” he asked seeming resigned you chuckled lifting your lanyard so he could better see the train pass on one side and the bright sailor moon sticker just covering your debit card on the other

“I can’t fire you, I don’t work here.” you said lightly he blinked stunned before laughing, it was a deep rumbling chuckle that was nice to hear.

“What did you do that for, then? Coulda stayed out of it.” he said relaxing a lot now he knew he wasn’t about to lose his job.

“I used to work retail. Shit shows like that suck balls, I know I would have loved someone to defend me when that happened back then, also, I hate that kind of racist thinking. You guys had a bad time, you lost a lot and now you're trying really hard to contribute in a world full of assholes, You don’t deserve that kind of treatment.” you said honestly shifting to step back looking at the basket now oozing egg goo and jam.

“Uh sorry about that I can help you clean it up.” you said crouching only to be waved off by a big bony hand

“Nah I’ll get it, Thanks for helpin’ kiddo.” he said with a small smile that seemed to brighten his eyelight opposite the hole. You wondered vaguely if he was blind or something in the other eye, then wondered if it would be rude to ask, then realised it would be and so resisted despite your raging curiosity.

“Alright well... Have a better day.” you said a little awkwardly and made your way back to your cart, it had been in the opposite direction the woman had swanned off from so hopefully no one had messed with it. Slipping your coat back on and securing your purse you continued your shopping. You were a little surprised no one had come after you while you finished your shopping… like a real manager. Maybe they were just glad you’d dealt with a pain in the ass for them, or maybe no one else had even seen it. Whatever the reason you got through the checkout no problem. You had kind of hoped to see the skeleton again since he seemed nice but you didn't, maybe he’d gone to take a break after cleaning up the eggs? You hoped so he deserved a break after dealing with that.

Once your groceries were set for delivery and you had your bag of bits to tide you over until the delivery tomorrow after noon you walked out of the shop and crouched next to Coco untying his leash and give him plenty of scratching behind his ears 

“You’re a good boy waiting for mummy… How many treats did you beg off people huh? You glutton.” you teased as you resecured his leash and stood the bag on your arm you headed down to the subway humming faintly. Weirdly While you hated confrontation, helping that monster deal with that Karen had made you feel… good. You felt like you’d done something very good and you liked that feeling.

You second guess yourself a lot but when you helped people, you never felt that kind of doubt.

Shifting in your purse for your phone to put some music to listen to Coco sat obediently at your side. You weren’t aware of the other people around you humming faintly as you pressed an ear bud in and pulled up a music app, hell you didn’t even feel the person behind you until you felt a firm hand on your back shove you

“How dare you make a fool of me!” came a shrill shriek of a very familiar sounding woman. Coco was barking you where in the air, everything seemed like slow motion, that psycho had just pushed you off the train platform, you were going to die. This was it. You knew the train was coming and felt every regret in your life rush at you with blinding speed, You should have told Your mom you loved her one more time.. You should have left Coco at home because he might get dragged into the train and killed too… You should have stayed with that skeleton a little longer and talked to him… asked his name.  
Despite how slow everything felt in that instant, in the next it was fast suddenly the skeleton was there he held you firm and then you were back on the platform, a couple guys had pinned the woman who was screaming angrily one of them holding her while what looked like three different people where on there phones probably calling the cops, Security was running down the stairs there was so much noise! Coco was shoving his way between you and the skeleton who had a firm hold… in fact he hadn’t let go. His hand on your shoulder and side felt nice… kind of warm.

“I… tha… uh…” You couldn’t form the words, it didn’t feel real what had just happened.

“Take a breath kid.” you looked up seeing the red light focusing on it... it was… wobbling? You took one breath then a second fighting not to cry as the fear bubbled up you still felt warm.

“Miss… Miss are you alright? can you tell us what happened?” the voice jolted you and you looked over letting out you lest breath in a shuddering rush 

“I, um, I think so? I, i was standing here and just.. I was putting in my headphones t-to listen a-and then I just … s-she pushed me…” you managed weakly it’s hard to speak but somehow the presence of the big skeleton was soothing in a way it helped you focus you took another breath “I-I’m sorry I’m still really rattled.” You said weakly the security guard nodded “It’s fine Miss, If you’d come with me please Police have already been called and you’ll need to give a statement… uh…” he glanced up at the skeleton

“Would you be able to come as well sir? They’ll want your statement as well.” the man said seeming nervous though probably more afraid of his size and the big hole then the skeleton as a whole.

“Righ’ uh yeah I can do that.” he said a little awkwardly the Security guard relaxed and you where led through the crowd Coco staying close to you as the crowd parted. You could hear the woman still shouting somewhere ahead but it sounded faint and tinny in your ears. As you walked you vaguely noticed your bag of groceries was gone and paused

“Did they fall on the track I.. I had a bag of food.” you said a little dumbly The guard paused but before he could say anything the skeleton held up the bag 

“Ya dropped it after we got back on the platform I got it no problem.” he said reassuringly and so you started again. Since the woman was going to be held in the security office the guard actually took you to the ticket booth. Away from the stream of people and just quiet enough for you to talk. He asked you If he needed to call anyone and you thought about your mom about the sudden paralyzing knowledge you would never see her again and nodded even as tears welled

“I-I’m so sorry I…” You tried to apologize but the guard was quick to reassure you it was fine, then you your surprise the Skeleton wrapped his arms around you and held you gently

“‘Sok to cry ya know you don’ need to apologize… You were scared, probably still scared.” he said softly his low voice is a rumbling deep in his chest you can feel it as he speaks and despite not even knowing him I turned into his hug and cried The guard watched with a helpless expression before leaving the two of you alone a moment, Deciding to keep an eye out for the officers.

“You saved my life…” you mumbled as the tears subsided, The skeleton nodded, you could feel it as his skull brushed yours

“Yeah well… ya did save me from that crazy woman.” he said, you frowned a moment, woman? Right… the shop Yeah that had happened… Was that what this was all about? Y-You just... It was mind boggling and trying to understand it almost made you cry again so you pushed it away.

“I mean.. That wasn’t as bad but fair I guess…” you said pulling back with a weak smile blushing when you saw the wet patch on his shirt.

“Oh my gosh I-I’m so sorry I didn’t mean, I…” you stopped when he just smiled watching you silently

“‘Sok… You apologize a lot huh?... I don’t mind, you needed to cry.” he said simply he seemed so nice and relaxed then it occurred to you hadn’t he been at work? You were going to ask him about it when the guard returned with two officers following him. You’d have to ask later.


	3. Chapter 3

Pulling back from the skeleton you turned to face the officers rubbing the heel of your hand against your eyes before settling your hand on Cocos head.

“Hello miss, I’m officer Barber and this is officer Tall, Do you think you’re ok to give a statement of what happened?” the lead officer asked, She was a friendly looking woman with dark skin and warm amber eyes she spoke gently and seemed willing to talk at your pace. You nodded glancing at the skeleton as the other officer… tall? (interesting name) approached him.

“Would you be ok coming with me so I can take your statement sir?” he asked, his voice wasn’t as friendly or warm but he was being professional at least, you were glad for that because you didn’t think you had the energy to try and argue with another bigot… not after what had happened.

“Be right back.” the skeleton said reassuringly and you nodded as the officer led him a bit away, probably so your stories didn’t get mixed up or something, you weren’t sure. Officer Barber smiled as they passed before looking at you

“Alright, If you could give me your name miss, and a general idea of what happened?” she asked, pulling out a notebook to take your statement. You explained everything, from the confrontation with the woman at the grocery store right up to the skeleton teleporting you to safety.

“And you’ve never met the woman or the monster before today?” she clarified you shook your head

“No, if I’ve ever run into them I don’t remember, it’s entirely possible I’ve seen the woman I shop there once a week so I might have seen her but I’ve never spoken to her before today and, I’ve never met him before.” you said nodding to the skeleton who kept glancing over at you, you had no way of knowing but for some reason you were sure he was checking you were ok, and it felt… nice.

“Well from what we were told when we were called and other witnesses I’m going to ask if you wish to press charges against that woman.” she said you nodded 

“Y-yes... I don’t like... I... don’t want to be trouble but… What if I hadn’t been saved... Or what if she lost her temper with someone else… I…” you shivered the thoughts rushing through you mind had your breathing picking up again in a quick panicky way, Coco nudged your hand while Barber reached out to cover it. Before she could speak however, you felt big bony hands on your shoulders.

“Gotta breath kid… gonna, hyperventilate.” the deep rumbling voice of the skeleton was easy to focus on and you could swear you could feel it through his bones and into yours

“Sorry I keep getting upset.” you said apologetically to the cop who nodded though she was looking at the skeleton oddly.

“I’m sorry can I just clarify a couple things with you sir?” she asked you felt the skeleton nod but he didn’t move or let you go. You glanced at Tall who was writing a few things in his own notebook before looking over and offering you a smile before standing, maybe leaving to talk to the woman or the witnesses? You weren’t sure.

“Have you ever met this woman or the one who pushed her before?” the question brought your attention back to Officer Barber and the skeleton 

“No… Jus’ started workin’ at the shop a couple days ago, and I’ve never seen them before then.” he said calmly

“Alright, can I ask how you managed to rescue her?” Barber asked “Or how you knew to?” That was a point how had he known? You had thought he was still at work.

“Got off work… don’ keep me to long wanted me to adjust.” he explained 

“Was just walkin down the stairs to the platform and saw her falling, didn’t ever realize she’d been pushed at firs’ just thought she tripped or summat…” he said frankly

“Wasn’t till I saw some guys pinnin tha’ lady and heard her screamin that I realised what happened.” Barber nodded as the skeleton told his story.

“I see and your name?” she asked 

“Sans, Jus… jus Sans.” he said looking down at you and offering another smile you smiled back, so his name was Sans huh? That was nice.

“It’s nice to meet you Sans.” you said smiling sheepishly you felt more embarrassed not having asked his name before but he didn’t seem bothered.

“You to.” he said lightly Barber smiled a little before standing

“Well I have everything I need, Do you need a lift home or any kind of assistance? Either of you?” she asked looking between you and sans You shook your head

“N-no thank you I’m going to call my mother I… I need to see her and I don’t think I can handle the train right now.” you admitted Barber nodded 

“Perfectly understandable. I’m not a doctor but I think it’s important you see about getting to a hospital even if your not physically hurt this is still quiet a traumatic things to happen.” she said easily you nodded You planned on it, you hated to trouble others but you knew it would be more trouble if this got into your head and effected your work. Most of all it would really trouble your bank account. This whole thing was probably going to go to court weather you pressed charges or not, regardless of your survival you where pretty sure pushing someone off a train platform into an oncoming trains path was very very illegal (and if it wasn’t it really should be.) You looked at Sans who had crouched running his big hand over Cocos head, just his palm was almost bigger then the old dogs head but both seemed very happy so you fished out your phone to make a very difficult phone call… not because your mother was hard to deal with, you two got along really well and frankly you’d still be living with her if she hadn’t insisted that having your own place was a part of ‘adulting’

You didn’t tell her everything right away just assured her you weren’t hurt but you needed her to pick you up, what station and where you would be, yes it was kind of urgent, no, no one died… thankfully. No you weren’t ok. You could hear her grabbing her keys and bag, you could picture her pulling on her shoes and coat as she spoke with you how she’d make her way through the little row house and out to the car before she told you she was about to start the car so she was hanging up. Once you hung up you looked to Sans and smiled

“My mothers coming Um… s-she’ll take me home and, to the doctors and everything I um… I don’t know if you I mean.. I don’t want you to think I’m ungrateful but I don’t want you to feel obligated to stay.” you said Sans shook his head and looked back at Coco who in abject bliss had rolled over and was getting a belly rub that had his tail wagging a mile a minute.

“‘Sok, I’ll stay.” he said simply and you let out a breath, you wanted him to stay, you couldn’t really understand it but he just, made you feel calm. Yeah he had saved your life and everything but this connection you where feeling seemed a bit much even for that.

“Do you think you can watch him for a second while I go to the bathroom?” you asked blushing faintly. Sans nodded lifting an absent hand as Coco batted his front paws up in a playful way. Seeing you weren't needed at the moment you made your way to the restrooms tending your business washing your hands then splashing your face with water to try and clear your mind, You still felt sick to your stomach still about what happened. How long did it take to just… just get over it. Where you making a big deal about nothing? You where alive weren’t you? Why where you still shaking, why where you still so scared?! You felt ashamed of yourself for still being so rattled even after so much time had passed. You’d talked to the police your mom was on her way you and coco where safe, hell Sans had even saved your groceries apparently. Why was he so unaffected? Maybe that’s what bothered you most, he seemed so calm, it made you feel like a wuss.

Something caught your eye in the mirror distracting you from those thoughts, blue? You frowned reaching up it wasn’t a bruise it was to blue to vivid… you hooked a finger on the neck line of your shirt and tugged it aside gasping weakly… no way, no way…

Forgetting you where in a public toilet you turned and Hiked your shirt up to better see yourself in the mirror and there, clear as day vivid colors on your skin, the faded mark had bloomed beautifully across your side down your ribs it was like that famous painting, Starry night, the swirls of blue blobs and yellow streaks swiped in circles to make the glow of stars. 

It was beautiful...

But how?

Then you remembered the warmth you had felt before when Sans had first grabbed you, how it had spread through you as he’d held you on the platform… 

Sans... Sans the skeleton was your soul mate.

Did he know?! Was he disappointed that his Soulmate was someone like you? Was that why he hadn’t said anything?

No that stupid and paranoid even for you, for one you had seen how he had looked at you with such warmth, how the whole time you had walked to the ticket office he’d held you and then when Officer Tall had pulled him away he kept looking over to you checking on you. Monsters where supposed to be much more in tune to their souls right? So he probably knew right away. You wanted to see his hands, you wanted to see what kind of a mark you left on him. Pulling your shirt down you run a hand through your hair and make your way back to the ticket office. Sans was still sitting with Coco who apparently petted out had rolled back onto his belly and had his head resting on Sans lap while the big skeleton stroked his head.

“Did’ja see it?” he asked the voice startling you in the relative quiet (as quiet as a busy subway ticket office could be anyway.

“U-uh yeah I did.. Um…. I… I’m sorry…” you said weakly unable to help yourself, he looked over his eye light focused on you

“What for?” he asked blankly You let out a weak breath and just… gestured at yourself.

“You got stuck with me.” you said weakly He stared at you a moment before laughing, it was a full deep rumble of a sound like at the store it made you feel good to hear it.

“Stuck with you? Nah I think I think I got gifted you, by the universe or summat, I mean… You're the one who got stuck with this bone head.” he said easily you blinked a moment before laughing “Was that a pun?” you asked you weren’t the best at picking up on them Sans grinned

“Yeah but I’ll have to try harder if you couldn’t tell… tibia honest I’m a little out of practice.” he admitted. It was so casual and despite the fear that still seemed to clutch you with cold clammy hands you felt warm. You moved and sat next to him on the floor running your hand over Coco.

“What's it look like?” he asked after a moment you shifted reaching up and pulling your collar to the side so he could get a glimpse.

“Like that, but… bigger? It’s all down my ribs and around my side biggest mark I’ve ever heard of… but, it’s pretty.” you said He smiled reaching out his fingers brushing the different strokes of color on your skin. Before holding up his palms, you looked at the marks on the bones green… lines? No … vines, you looked on each palm over the smooth stretch of bone where blooms yellow Roses and… tulips? Why yellow? They were very beautiful. The vines wrapped around his fingers little buds of yellow roses on them. You could see how the vines wrapped up the bones of his wrist past the blue jacket he wore. Right he hugged you so his mark but be pretty big to… you smiled faintly.

“D-do you like yours?” you asked he nodded turning his hands to look at them

“Yeah… didn’t think I was much of a flower person but they seem to have grown on me.” he said, casting you a grin, that one you got and when you mom walked in she found you clutching your side still laughing from it.


	4. Chapter 4

“Well you seem better.” The voice startled you and you looked up scrambling to your feet and you gave your mom a big hug. She seemed startled but hugged you back. It was horrifying to think you might have never hugged her again. You stepped back and began to explain what had happened. From seeing the woman abusing a monster at the grocery store, stepping in, to being shoved off the platform.

“She just pushed you? Good god! Please tell me she didn’t get away with it. How are you even ok? Did you climb up?!” she asked upset at the idea of the danger to you you smiled nodding and gestured to Sans 

“Mom, this is Sans he saved me.” you explained the woman smiled offering him a hand a little nervously. She wasn’t a racist, big men had always made her nervous, and monsters as a rule were quite large so you could understand but she was still polite. Sans took the offered hand keeping contact brief he must be able to tell… You hoped he did think she was afraid of him specifically.

“Thank you for Saving my daughter I.. I just can’t believe anyone would do something like that. Was she caught?” the woman asked addressing you again You nodded “Yeah a bunch of people on the platform stopped her from leaving while Sans grabbed me. The police took her. I-I told them I’d press charges…” you said a little nervously Your mother smiled pulling you into a hug

“That’s ok dear, of course Someone like that clearly needs help, and a good reality check.” she said and you knew she would have supported whatever decision you had made.

“You’re not hurt so I don’t think you need to go to the ER but We’ll see if the clinic can see you just to make sure you're ok.” your mother said gently looking to Sans

“Is there anything I can do for you? You.. I…” you looked up surprised as your mother choked up seeming to realise how close she’d come to losing you, you hugged her again. Trying to reassure her.

“Nah ‘s fine…” he said then after a moment “Actually… if it’s not any trouble, could ya.. I missed my train home.” he admitted you could hear a sound and a glance back showed he was scratching his neck blushing faintly 

“Of course that’s no trouble at all.” she said warmly You smiled moving to crouch and pet Coco a little as Sans gave your mom his address so she could put it in her phone. Once you got closer he could give better directions but to get to the area he lived? GPS was easier especially if he took the train and didn’t know the roads.

Clipping Cocos leash back on the four of you headed out after profusely thanking the Subway staff for their time, they were very kind and even voided your and sans fees for the day which was great a little money back was never a problem.

You loaded coco into the Trunk of your moms old hatchback before climbing into the back seat to sit next to sans.

“Is it ok if I tell her? I don’t like keeping secrets from her.” you said quickly before you mom climbed in Sans nodded shrugging

“I’ll be tellin my bro.” he said easily reaching up to scratch near the hole in his skull you reached up catching his hand without really thinking then blushed

“Oh! S-sorry that I…” why did you do that? He watched you a moment then shook his head

“‘S all right… I shouldn’t scratch it… or pull it…” he murmured, it was amazing how quiet he could talk considering how deep his voice was.

“Is everything alright you two?” you mom asked as she buckled in you nodded and took a breath

“Yeah just… I wanted to make sure he was comfortable. It looks like… well… Funny coincidence, Sans is my.. Soul mate?” you said sheepishly. You weren’t sure how to say it. You weren’t ashamed by any means but you’d never really given thought to how you would introduce a soul mate. Heck you hadn’t thought you would meet them this way.

“That’s a nice thought dear but… wait…” she stalled and turned to look at you eyes wide

“Y-you mean… the mark?” she asked stunned you nodded and Sans to his crest held up his hands showing the flowers on his palms.

“Oh my… honey you… Well… That certainly explained why the mark is so big.” she said smiling unsure what else to say before smiling to Sans

“I guess we’ll have a chance to get to know each other then.” she said warmly nodding “I see why you wanted to sit in the back, would you like me to turn on the radio so I can focus on that and you two can talk a bit?” she offered, you nodded with a smile,. She set her phone in the little holder on the dash, started the engine and you were off.

True to her word your mom put music on classic rock, but low enough for you and Sans to talk in the back with some privacy.

“What will your brother think?” you asked. He smiled, probably bigger than you had seen from him so far.

“Paps’ll be thrilled… likes makin new friends… always… believed I’d meet’cha...” he said the way he spoke he seemed like he wanted to say more so you nodded encouragingly

“What’s he like?” you asked, Sans seemed thoughtful.

“Big? Not, not jus his body but, his personality… Big and open. Even when things got bad, he tried so hard to remain optimistic… He had a tough time so I don’t know where he found it but he’s just… one o’ those…. Positive people… that jus, radiates it ya know?” he explained you nodded

“He sounds really nice, Um… I know a lot of monsters… well I won’t… just… I mean…” Sans chuckled a little

“Kinda like me?” he asked you paused he tapped his temple near the hole

“Scatterbrained?” you blinked and chuckled shaking you head 

“Not too much more, I’m not sure how to ask without being rude. I guess… Is there anything I shouldn’t say or do? I know what we’ve been told, it got bad down there so If there's anything that might upset him.. Or you for that matter Gosh I should have asked I wasn’t even.” you blushed but Sans nodded understanding you which was good at least,

“It’s ok… it’s not too bad, just don’t comment on his teeth? The docs up here… they fixed him up real good but… he’s still uh… still….” he frowned

“Self conscious?” you asked Sans nodded

“Yeah that’s it, he’s got braces on now helping to straighten out the last few I guess, but other than that it’s mostly food Don’t waste food. If you're not hungry or somethin instead of tossin it, offer it to a monster. That’s just kind of a general thing for all of us. Seeing…. Seeing food wasted can be… bad.” he explained you nodded, well yeah living in a cave trapped starving, suffering? Of course wasted food would piss them off, it pissed you off thinking about it!

“Well no trouble there, I am a black hole about food. I enjoy eating… a little too much.” you said laughing poking at your belly. The way you were sitting there where a couple rolls, you were probably thicker than most people would say you should be but… 

food was so good....

“Moms nice…” Sans said drawing your attention you smiled nodding

“Yeah, Oh it’s not you by the way… She’s nervous about Big men so I hope you weren’t upset.” you said quickly Sans shook his head

“Nah…. she’s got… a good soul… wasn’t worried about it.” he assured. You noticed he spoke more and clearer when he spoke about his brother.

“Ya know where I work… what do you do?” he asked, trying to think of what to ask… say, or do. It was strange he remembered having relationships before his injury, it hadn’t been hard then, why was he struggling now? What was missing? Well aside from a chunk of his skull?

“Oh I’m an artist Uh, freelance. Mostly illustration work for books and things, but I’ve done company and small business Logos and images to be used on websites.” you explained he nodded seeming honestly interested

You fell into an awkward silence. What did you do now? You were soul mates, was there a rule book for how this worked? Some idea of how to act or what to say? And he was a monster, what could you ask about that wouldn’t be offensive considering what happened to him? You had a feeling asking about his favourite food or hobby would be very rude.

“S’neat you can draw… I’m not too good at it, I preferred sciences… before, I tell some pretty good jokes to.” he said after a moment you looked up smiling could he tell you where struggling or did he want to keep talking to you himself? Either way it made you happy he had spoken.

“It was very funny, I struggle a lot with humour, anything that isn’t obvious can go right over my head sometimes.” you said taking the offered subject “What sort of science work did you study?” you asked he seemed quite a moment ah… should you not have asked.

“Quantum physics… haven’t really, I don’t… have the focus for it now though I almost prefer it kind of… I was… burning out a bit.” he explained and smiled it was smaller and a little strained.

“You must be really smart then, I mean I forget there are even things like that unless someone mentions it it’s so out of my… realm of the world.” you said quickly he relaxed a little 

“‘S a lot of numbers and guessing.” he said you laughed touching his hand gently

“Still that’s really cool. I ah!” you gasped as Coco took that moment to stick his head over the back seat and begin licking Sans face.

“Coco no stop he’s not a chew bone!” you said quickly trying to push him back Sans chuckling as he worked with you to wrestle the dog back into the trunk space.

“Heh, a few more inches and I’d have gotten further with your dog then you.” he joked you nodded

“Yeah I would bet money his tongue has a life of its own it’s insane.” you said lightly a glance out the window made you pause… this wasn’t a great area of town… then it hit you, Sans was a monster. Despite everything there were still bigots out there. The whole problem today had started with one… Of course they’d be shuffled off here by some uncaring bureaucrat wanting brownie points but not caring about the logistics…

“Can you tell me where to go from here Sans?” You mom asked. He leaned a little and pointed her a couple blocks, then to the left, to the left again into an underground parking lot for a small apartment building. There were very clean spots where graffiti had been washed off the concrete and the other few cars were old but well maintained.

“D-do ya… wanna come in for a bit?” Sans asked you wanted to but looked at your mom would she want to? And should you? After everything? Now you weren’t sure, doubt plagued you what did you do. Your mom smiled

“That sounds nice, but just for a little bit.” she said Coco whined from the back Sans smiled

“He can come with us, if he’s good with other dogs.” he said you nodded

“Great… Paps has this annoying little white thing we think is a dog.” he said chuckling you smiled as your mom chuckled. 


	5. Chapter 5

Sans lived on the fourth floor which was both good and bad, bad because the elevator was apparently broken and had been for months… good because it wasn’t too far to climb at least. With a jangle of keys he opened the door to apartment 403 and stepped aside to let you and your mother in. 

“Hey Bro ‘m home… can ya grab the pup real fast… brought some friends.” he called. There was some excited barking and a muffled scuffle before another skeleton stepped into view from the corner.

If Sans was big this skeleton was HUGE! While Sans was more wide, This skeleton was very tall and very skinny, he was stooped so he didn’t bash his head on the ceiling of the apartment and in his arms wriggling excitedly was a white puff ball of a dog. It was certainly energetic and before the tall skeleton could get a word out edge wise it squirmed out of his arms and rushed over to Coco. there was a tense moment as it slid to a stop in front of the bigger older dog who stared at it. You weren’t worried Coco was very well behaved and after a moment the white dog's tail began wagging rapidly and Cocos tail began to sway contentedly as they started to sniff at each other in greeting.

“BROTHER, HOW EXCITING HAVE YOU MADE NEW FRIENDS?!” the other skeleton exclaimed in a loud voice, he was.. Boisterous. Yes that word seemed to fit best, He had glasses taped to his skull and bright red braces that matched a scarf he wore. It was tattered and looked quite old and worn but looked cared for. He must have really loved it.

“HELLO HUMANS, IT’S WONDERFUL TO MEET YOU I AM PAPYRUS! I REALLY MUST ASK HOW YOU CAME TO BE FRIENDS WITH SOMEONE AS LAZY AS MY BROTHER THOUGH. WOULD YOU LIKE SOME FRIENDSHIP SPAGHETTI? I JUST FINISHED COOKING!” he said brightly as you and your mother walked into the main room of the apartment. It was separate from the kitchen by a counter there was a sagging but comfortable couch and a harshly orange zigzag patterned armchair situated in front of a large old TV and on the stand beneath it you could see a collection of DVD, most of the covers sparkling and pink with the glaring MTT logo 

“That sounds wonderful, Sans said you’re his younger brother and you like to cook?” Your mother said answering as you looked around you blushed realising she must have listened in at least a little bit to your conversation with Sans, though you couldn't blame her, after all Sans was a stranger even if he was your soulmate and had saved your life. You smiled looking over to see Papyrus grinning and nodding quickly 

“ABSOLUTELY HUMAN! AND SINCE COMING HERE I HAVE COLLECTED ALL SORTS OF BOOKS ON COOKERY! I AM ALWAYS HAPPY TO EXPAND MY SKILLS!” he said enthusiastically you found yourself smiling, No wonder Sans admired his brother so much, Papyrus was an absolute bean! Sans had shuffled over to stand by you smiling crookedly before the big red eye light flicked to his brother as if asking if you where ok with him telling. He had told you in the car he would but now he was asking. You blushed and nodded you wouldn’t have minded if he just came out with it but that he considered asking you meant a lot.

“Well go’ some good news for ya bro.” he said You couldn’t help smiling you hoped it was good for his sake Papyrus was so sweet.

“REALLY? I THOUGHT THE FACT YOU MADE MORE FRIENDS WAS ALREADY GOOD NEWS.” Papyrus said making you and your mom laugh Sans face flushed an interesting blue color 

“Not tha’ bad…” he mumbled before pulling his hands from his pockets and holding them palms out for Papyrus to see. The taller skeleton stared for a moment uncomprehending before you would swear his eye sockets started to sparkle. He quickly looked between you and your mother and you smiled pulling your collar aside to show him the edge of your own mark. Papyrus gasped and with surprising grace considering the small space was by you in a flash pulling you into a strong hug almost taking you off your feet.

“SISTER! AH I TOLD YOU SANS I TOLD YOU!” Papyrus said delighted letting you go and grabbing your face in his big hands to look at you more closely “I ALWAYS KNEW YOU WHERE OUT HERE SOMEPLACE, AND HERE YOU ARE AH! I DON’T EVEN KNOW YOUR NAME YET BUT I ALREADY KNOW YOU WILL MAKE MY BROTHER SO HAPPY!” he exclaimed startling you you smiled and proceeded to introduce yourself and your mother to him, then Coco of course who had flopped on a rug in front of the TV the bouncy white fluff ball curled up next to him.

“Mr. Papyrus why don’t you and I get this spaghetti of yours dished up hmm?” your mother suggested Papyrus nodded and walked with her into the little separate kitchen you rocked back on your heels blushing a little 

“Your brothers nice…” you managed feeling awkward again Sans grinned

“Yep…” he said simply. He didn’t talk a lot, which wasn’t a problem, you weren’t a chatterbox yourself normally but you felt like you should be talking about something, anything…

“He’s so tall, I’m really amazed, but isn’t it hard being cramped here?” you asked Sans looked over was he surprised by your concern maybe?

“It’s a bit awkward but there's not much we can do, there aren’t a lot of places around fer monsters…” he admitted you nodded glancing around. The home was well kept, A lovingly framed photo of a bone hung on a wall opposite the window of the main room but other than that the walls were bare. You could see where the paint had been sun stained by time, the carpet was clean but stained in a couple places where furniture hadn’t quite covered it. You were surprised by the sudden anger that boiled in you. What the hell was happening with all the stuff people donated, the money, the resources?!

“S’not so bad ya know…” Sans said startling you out of your thoughts he was studying you and you couldn’t help feeling embarrassed, you’d just stared around his house and probably looked mad. You know you were pretty bad at hiding what you were thinking. Expressive was how your mother described you.

“No, it’s... I…” you said stumbling over your words you started rubbing your arm

“I’m kind of… a bubble... person? I don’t try to be malicious or ignorant but frankly I don’t often think about things outside my little bubble of the world unless it directly impacts me. When everything first happened I helped where I could and now I donate what I can because what happened was so awful but, I see things like this… This isn’t a great area, this building isn’t very nice… And I'm wondering what happened to everything you’re supposed to have?” you said softly and gestured lamely

“Hell your elevator doesn’t even work! That’s… Well basic maintenance… it… it frustrates me. And I feel kind of guilty too, for just accepting blindly that you were getting everything you should be getting help and the money an-!” you were cut off as a very large body hand pressed against your face. You had a feeling he only meant to cover your mouth but his hand was just so big.

“S’ok, kid, I mean... we’re really, way better off here... This place might be cramped but we can go outside whenever… ya… know... we want. We got jobs, we got food, we’re getting health care it’s… so it’s maybe not all perfect but it coulda been... hellova lot worse.” he reasoned in his slow careful way of speaking you nodded as he pulled his hand away. His eye light was big and a little fuzzy as he looked at you and you smiled sheepishly

“S-sorry I… I get into these thought Spirals… But I guess it’s a good thing… You should know these things about me…” you managed shyly it was a bit embarrassing and a glance at Papyrus and your mom showed she had glanced up to look at you as Papyrus happily chattered away, you knew her look, she was making sure you were ok. You smiled and nodded before returning your attention to Sans.

“You’ve got a bit of a mess on your hands with me but, I do try my best to handle my own head, I-I hope…” you stalled looking away, what did you say? I hope that you can care about me despite my freakish brain? Hey by the way you got a broken human for a soulmate? Well… maybe he wouldn’t mind… considering part of his skull was literally broken. 

Actually that was a thought, how did monsters even have sex? Would you, not really being interested, be a problem for him? Even if you did find a spark of interest and he could do it he was so big… would it be physically possible? Proportionally… your face flamed, what the hell were you thinking in this man's house! With your mother and his brother only a few feet away! His sudden laughter made you jump

“Penny fer your thoughts?” Sans offered… oh hell no

“Not for a million… I… My mind wandered…” you said sighing with heavy relief as Papyrus and your mom rounded the counter each carrying two plates of some very good looking Pasta.

“Wow, Papyrus, this looks great, and smells nice too.” you complimented. The taller skeleton went an interesting burnt orange color Oh! He was blushing

“THANK YOU HUMAN. IT WAS MY FAVORITE FOOD TO MAKE UNDERGROUND AND NOW UP HERE THERE ARE ALL SORT OF PLANTS I CAN USE SO I CAN MAKE IT AGAIN!” he said brightly. Right… Most monsters now were vegetarian for obvious reasons. You took a bite, shoving the fork in your mouth to keep from asking something thoughtless only to be surprised, it didn’t taste any different from normal spaghetti, there might have been something maybe, but between the sauce and herbs or what ever went into adding flavour to Noodles meat and tomatoes (or in this case non meat) you couldn’t tell the difference.

“This is amazing Papyrus, you really must share the recipe with me.” your mother enthused “I’ve been trying to eat healthier and this is just fantastic.” Papyrus beamed at the compliment and explained the recipe was in a cookbook and offered to show her when she asked if she could take a photo with her phone.

So you ate, Papyrus sitting cross legged on the floor, your mother in the arm chair and you and Sans next to each other on the couch. Conversation went to light things. You learned Papyrus kept a selection of action figures he used to use for ‘battle’ simulations, but now kept for nostalgic value. He had once dreamed of being a member of the royal guard, but they didn’t need one on the surface so he was doing a lot of different classes on line to get his core classes done while he thought about what he wanted to do. 

Sans had diplomas from underground and while it was possible to get them verified and have his certifications up here with a couple equivalency tests he had chosen not to due to his injury. He worked several small jobs (though you had a hard time considering retail ‘small’) and enjoyed them aside from the grocer, he also worked part time at a pet store, and teaching MSL. Because so many monsters couldn’t speak verbally they communicated with sign language. MSL wasn’t too different from ASL from what you know but you’d never met any monsters who had used it so you had never seen it. 

“AS LAZY AS SANS CAN BE AT TIMES HE CERTAINLY WORKS VERY HARD WHEN HE WANTS TO.” Papyrus said this wasn’t the first time he’d piped up with good points about his brother and you had a feeling he was trying to hype up all his brothers best aspects to you, it was cute.

“I’d believe it, I could barely handle one job when I was a 9 to 5er I can’t imagine holding so many jobs.” your mom said chuckling Sans shrugged

“If ‘m tired I can nap even better.” he said with a chuckle though the way he said it made you think there was more to it… but… you didn’t want to pry. Did he have nightmares? Dumb question again, after everything? And you probably didn’t know half of it, you needed to be more considerate! You stared hard at your plate jolting as a bony hand covered yours

“Thinkin to hard… jus eat.” Sans said calmly you smiled and nodded tucking into the meal, yeah you needed to relax. You didn’t know everything but you had common sense so you could handle this. And sans had told you things that might trigger him or his brother, and if anything else came up, well he’d been pretty happy with things so far he had a pretty laid back attitude, if anything else happened he’d just explain what was wrong so it didn’t happen again right? 

Yeah.

“I’m always having to tell her that. She gets caught up in her thoughts, or in things she’s read online and gets worked up about it.” you mom said chuckling

“It’s almost funny how sometimes she’ll read about things or see videos and become indignant on others behalf.” you blushed as she chuckled 

“I’m not… well ok she’s right I do that so I try not to get too involved in things I like watching funny videos more or game playthroughs.” you admitted Papyrus perked up

“GAME PLAYTHROUGHS?” he asked curiously you smiled

“Yeah, My TV can connect to youtube so I watch, well Listen, to people as they play video games while I work, I can’t do quiet.” you said warmly 

“BUT DON’T YOU WANT TO PLAY? “ Papyrus asked seeming fascinated by the idea you shrugged

“I do sometimes but I’m not very good at games especially newer ones coming out but I still want to see them and the stories so I watch other people play so I can enjoy the experience.” you explained Papyrus nodded fascinated.

“I saw you have a collection of MTT DVDs do you watch other things? What do you like?” you asked you wanted to get to know both brothers, Sans because he was your soulmate and Papyrus because he was just so sweet.


End file.
